Just about every wheeled vehicle with a siren on goes racing past my abode about an hour ago – numerous fire engines, police, ambulances, and boy racers. I can only presume that the world has ended, all hell has broken loose, or that half the city has burnt down. If its none of the above, then can the “emergency services” please quiten the f*** up! My ears are hurting!

jp

13 - 02 - 14

Don’t care if Auckland is building a big old skyscraper. Big shaft or not the city will always be NZ’s Frankfurt rather than its Berlin. Let’s not encourage the trend otherwise we’ll all end up TVNZ celebutards.

As for the Petone Grenada link, to me this seems like a big deal. The defining features of Wellington’s topography is the Porirua/Hutt split, and any road which traverses this chasm is important psychologically. Let’s build over Belmont.

As far as Takapu Valley residents go, they’re middle class so of course they’ll get column inches in the reactionary DomPost, but quite frankly they’re in the wrong, and in the road of Wellington’s long term development. If you want to farm alpacas, go and live in the Wairarapa.

The larger question is: do we want a population of 500K or a million or more? I’d throw my weight behind the latter: more variety, more wealth, more positive urban outcomes.

60 MPa

13 - 02 - 14

I thought that Burrell’s airport proposal had some merit in that it would be long enough for some big jets and more centrally located for transport links out of town but the main problem is that it gets misty up on ol Newlands on a regular basis or, as a local put it to me once, – “Rubbish! It’s not misty! You can still see your hand in front of your face!”

Parsons closing is a shame but realistically I haven’t bought anything there in yonks – Unity is the only bookstore that gets my money when I buy dead tree artifacts

Jp – I like your line about alpaca farmers – presumably it holds true for highland cattle too?

jack

13 - 02 - 14

The proposed road from Petone to Grenada North has been known about for years. I’ve got a book on walks in Wellington, published around 2001, that describes the walk from Korokoro into Belmont Regional Park and mentions that there’s a motorway proposed to go through that route. Anyone who bought a property in that area in the last decade or so should have known what they were getting into.

Alan

13 - 02 - 14

What about this headline from Stuff that just came up:
“Option X a possible alternative.”

“One of the main reasons why Option X was not pursued was because of cost, Mr McCombs said. The transport agency said it could cost up to $255 million, compared to $90m for a flyover. Mr McCombs also questioned whether Option X was too complex to be constructed.”

Maximus

13 - 02 - 14

Thanks for that Alan – yes, I’ve always thought the DomPost figures were crap, it is amazing how they still get away with publishing them.

60, JP and Jack – yes, the proposal for the hilltop airport cau my eye as well – makes a lot of sense on one hand, but no sense at all on the other. The reading proposals, on the other hand, really seem to make no sense at all. I’m lost. I shall explore it further!

minimus

13 - 02 - 14

a new airport near the gorge you say?
Why I’m pretty sure I wrote about that several years ago….
can’t say I can find it in the archive, maybe I dreamt that…

Maximus

13 - 02 - 14

minimus, nice to see you here. and there. An airport by the gorge? Nope, I don’t recall you ever writing about that. It really is quite a radical idea, to use a huge chunk of land, to shovel off the top of a hill, and to propose an airport up there. That’s blue sky thinking, as previously people have either being saying Airport in Paraparaumu, or Rongotai, and this is the first one in between. Rongotai is wonderfully conveniently close to Wellington – but on the hill in Newlands, would be almost as useful. Well, just as useful for central Wellingtonians, and a helluva lot more useful for people to the north of the city. Only trouble is, it’s windy and often cloudy up there.

And re a second Terrace tunnel – my understanding is that where they are proposing the tunnel, will be so close to the ground level Above the tunnel, that they are actually worried that they MIT bang into people’s foundations there. It will be close for a couple of houses. You know, they’ll be diggin in the back garden for roses, and suddenly they’ll fall through into the tunnel. That sort of thing.

Maximus

minimus

13 - 02 - 14

yes… well with rising sea levels I admit filling the entire harbour in planted tulips is less likely, BUT
EYE OF THE FISH EXCLUSIVE APRIL 2052.

Maximis

13 - 02 - 14

Sigh… i want you back on board, mini-me, when life was carefree and there was less Facebook to fill the day. There’s definitely less traffic on this website since all the tossers with nothing better to do moved to twitter and tumblr, talking to themselves…

minimus

13 - 02 - 14

you had me until you mentioned the tossers… haha
I’ve actually had some thoughts I’d like to get up here.
It’s a matter of focus.
As one of my primary teachers said (repeatedly) on my report cards.. “Minimus has a difficult time staying on task..”
Story of my ADHD life.

Maximus

13 - 02 - 14

Hmmm, in case you hadn’t noticed, its just you and me chatting to each other right now… But yes, please do write. With that witty sardonic charm of yours, and tulips.

60 MPa

14 - 02 - 14

Who could forget the harbour full of tulips? Twas a brilliant idea.
Wouldn’t that cut down on cruise ships?
I believe that is a win-win solution

Please come back Minimus, at least on occasion – Max keeps threatening to throw his toys out of the cot, Or should that be toss?